This document relates to payment instruments.
Hard currency is but one form of payment that can be used in value transactions. Various forms of pre-paid payment instruments, pre-paid value cards, coupons and the like have been used to facilitate transactions, including web-based and brick and mortar transactions. Conventional pre-paid payment mechanisms are typically acquired by a purchaser for value from a seller. The seller can be a re-seller, a bank or other financial institution, a retailer, or other entity. The purchaser typically provides value (e.g., money) to the seller and is issued (e.g., by printing or otherwise associating the value with the pre-paid payment instrument) the pre-paid payment instrument. The pre-paid payment instrument can be of the form of a pre-paid gift or value card, a coupon, or other value mechanism. Conventionally, once the seller completes the initial transaction of selling and providing the pre-paid payment instrument to the purchaser, no further interactions with the purchaser are required. That is, while the seller will track purchases against value attributed to the pre-paid payment instrument, no further interaction with the purchaser occurs. One of the attractions for issuers of the pre-paid payment instruments is the redemption rate associated with the instruments. Typically, less than 100 percent of the value of the pre-paid payment instruments are ever redeemed. The pre-paid payment instruments can be lost or left un-spent, resulting in a value proposition that favors the seller.